


Future Tense

by Xachyn



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Established Relationship, In which Goro is emotionally constipated, M/M, Moving In Together, Post-Canon, Ren is more of a background character, and Morgana mediates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:27:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26498611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xachyn/pseuds/Xachyn
Summary: “You know, contrary to what others may think,” Morgana chirped, “I’m not at all opposed to your relationship.”“I didn’t realise I had to seek your approval,” Goro said dryly, and tossed the more expensive option into his basket. He didn’t need to ask who hated his presence around Ren either, but he’s at a point where he wasn’t particularly interested in the validation of others.“That’s not what I’m saying,” Morgana said, tail flicking against Goro’s ear impatiently, “It just means that I actually want this to go well.”
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Morgana, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 19
Kudos: 239





	Future Tense

There was, of course, the sound of birds chirping in the distance. The kind of echoing quiet pervasive in a residential neighbourhood on the fringes of Tokyo, one suburb indistinguishable from another. Not a toe out of line, not a leaf out of place. 

Goro slammed the window shut, loudly, daringly, just to feel the way it reverberated.

“Something wrong?” Ren’s voice behind him was soft, hesitant. 

“No,” He said shortly. 

How could anything be wrong? Here he was, moving into a new flat with, well, the most important person in his life. The business with Shido and Maruki long behind them. Some backroom deals, a series of under-the-table-exchanges, and a written promise to stay on his best _fucking_ behaviour, and Sae-san had pulled the strings that for all intents and purposes, allowed him a fresh start on this wretched life. Shido was not dead, but at least humbled, brought to his knees. So here Goro was, alive, with the possibility of university and a fulfilling life ahead of him. 

This was, objectively, the best-case scenario.

Except it felt in no way like one. He looked down on the palm of his right hand, a dark scar across it. A deliberate cut he had made when he first left Maruki’s palace, desperate for something tactile and tangible to hold on to in the mess of non-reality. He could still remember the way it felt to run a sharp blade briefly across the length of his palm, and he squeezed it, holding on to the dull ache of the old scar. 

This was real, right? 

“Are you sure?” Ren pressed, insistent, and Goro didn’t need to turn to recognise the hesitation across his face.

What could one possibly say in this situation? Should he opt for comforting and put on a face (that Ren would see through anyway), or admit to the deep anguish that will deepen the fissures between them and inevitably drive Ren away? 

Goro shrugged, and in the end, he didn’t really need to say anything at all. Morgana strolled in, tail held high and head held even higher.

“I’m hungry,” He announced to the room by way of greeting, “And there’s no food in the cupboard.” 

Goro pushed away from the window and turned towards the room. Two nondescript shipping boxes sat in the middle of their otherwise empty living room, half-open, the cumulation of all their belongings and the entirety of their lives, one for each of them. 

“I’ll do the grocery run,” Goro volunteered, the oddly domestic words foreign on his tongue, in an order he’s never verbalised to another human being, in a context he’s never even begun to imagine, “Any requests?” 

“Maybe a couch?” Ren offered weakly in good humour. 

“I’ll see what I can do.” 

Ren smiled, and for a moment, there’s a certain distinct sense of normalcy settling between them. 

“Here,” Ren held out a dull grey key to him. “The house key.” 

Obviously. Goro took it and shoved it in his pocket. It’s heavy, a troublesome weight in his trousers. 

“See you later,” Goro said.

He doesn’t turn to look back as he slipped out of the house, traipsing along the corridor and past a couple of other pale, insipid front doors. On the other side, the view stretched out to a handful of other apartment blocks blocking out the horizon, and a children’s playground below, splotches of green foliage and trees framing its circumference. It’s painfully mundane. The lift lobby, likewise, is a boring pastel beige, and he jabbed at the button for the lift with unnecessary force.

“Sushi sounds good, you know,” Morgana’s voice shook him out of his reverie. 

“What are you doing here?” Goro all but snapped, and Morgana glared. 

“I’m not sure you can be trusted.” 

“To do grocery shopping?” 

“That’s right,” Morgana licked at his paw, and Goro wrinkled his nose. Sure, it might be a common thing for cats to do, but he doesn’t know where Morgana go or gets up to, and he’s seen that tongue lick at Ren’s face. Disgusting. “I’m not sure you wouldn’t skimp out on buying the good stuff.”

The chime for the lift sounded, and Goro headed inside, Morgana close on his heels.

“Might I remind you,” Goro said, once the lift doors slid close and began its descent, “That I am the only person in the group that has actually bought you sushi?” 

Morgana considered this solemnly, his tail swishing around in thought. 

“Fair enough,” he conceded, “But someone needs to ensure that that wasn’t a one-off.” 

“We’re not having sushi tonight,” Goro said. For one, there was a budget to be worried about now. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the healthy lump sum sitting in his back account was not quite real, and mentally counted the notes in his wallet. And besides, “You’re going to get fat.” 

“No I am not!” Morgana yelped, swatting at him half-heartedly, and Goro snorted. 

“You can’t eat fatty tuna all the time,” Goro said, somewhat in disbelief that he’s saying that to a cat, “Even an animal like you needs a balanced meal- hey what are you doing!” 

“You’re being annoying,” Morgana proclaimed, climbing up onto him with sharp claws that pricked until he was resting wrapped around Goro’s shoulder. 

“And this is better how?” Goro scoffed as the lift doors opened, and a young girl waiting to enter giggled, Morgana’s swishing tail tickling his nose. He stalked out, trying to pull Morgana off, but the cat must have been a snake in a past life. 

“Buy me sushi,” Morgana repeated, pawing at him.

“Was this really your ploy all along?” 

The street lamps were just starting to turn on as they walked along the road, casting an incandescent light on passing groups of students and salarymen making their way home. Goro carefully counted the appropriate number of streets, turns and landmarks from the last time he glanced at the map of the locale, pacing himself slowly until they arrived at the main street. The one good thing about this apartment, he thought, was the relative proximity to the local shopping arcade and train station.

“Ren cares a lot about you, you know?” Morgana said casually, licking his paw and getting far too close to Goro’s ear, “I think you can tell him anything.” 

“I know that,” Goro snapped, and a nearby pair of students shot him a look. He turned away, pretending to peruse the glass display outside the second-hand bookstore, eyes passing over the worn display of used manga and textbooks but not quite taking anything in, “I fail to see how this is any of your business.” 

“Well, you see, when you do this thing, as you do, Ren gets sad. When Ren is sad, he gets mopey. When he gets mopey, he sits around in his room and sometimes-” Morgana does a pretence at shuddering, because cats most certainly did not shudder, “-he even forgets to feed me.” 

“Is that what all this is about? I didn’t take you to be such a pragmatist. Impressive.” 

Morgana swatted at him, and Goro wondered if he was giving this damn cat too much leeway, “Obviously not. Ren is my friend, and I care about him being happy. And he’s happiest when he’s with you, but not when you’re pulling away like this, intentionally or not. I’m just speaking to you, man-to-man.” 

“Cat-to-man,” Goro corrected, and Morgana did the unthinkable and licked his ear, “Urgh!” 

“You’ve both come a long way you know,” Morgana said, “Are you fine with leaving things like this?” 

What new lows he had reached, Goro thought, to be lectured by a cat sitting on his shoulder, outside a used bookstore. He traced the old scar on his palm absentmindedly, and stared at the cover of a book, of a photo of a beautiful woman with brown hair, a plastic, serene expression on her face. He thought about his dead mother, the way she made empty promises about how father would come to see him soon, some day, one day. The way she would cry over too many empty bottles and unanswered voice-box messages, the cumulation of all ending only in her death from a broken heart. His thoughts on the matter have changed over the years, and he’s moved between all stages of grief and anger and disgust and a commitment to never end up in the same situation. 

Except he’s not really his mother, was he? He was being unfair in the way Shido was, and Goro was anything but Shido.

He made a vague noise of irritation, and strode off, Morgana nearly slipping off but clinging on regardless, clambering about for a better hold. 

The attendant in the supermarket paused in her welcome as she saw Morgana perched on his shoulder, and Goro shot her a look that instantly silenced her. Yet it was strange, that mad as it was, with the persistent tickle of cat tail against his cheek and the claws fixed into his shoulder, Morgana was somehow proof that he wasn’t really going crazy. He grabbed a basket and made his way along the aisles, ignoring the furtive glances passing shoppers would give. 

“You could make a business out of this,” Goro said eventually, deadpan as he inspected a box of tea bags, “Sit on peoples’ shoulders and pretend to be their conscience.” 

“You think so?” Morgana purred, “Hey, that might just be a new way of changing hearts!” 

“Sure,” Goro said noncommittally. A new chapter for the phantom thieves, by means of irritating their victims into good behaviour. He let Morgana regale him with some nonsensical plan for the future of the phantom thieves, only half listening as a distraction for his own conundrum on what to do in this timeline, the one in which he had made zero preparations for, and the other half of his attention spent wondering if Ren had a preference for set honey or clear. 

He’s halfway through the toiletries aisle and consulting his phone to decide between two types of toothpaste when Morgana spoke up again. 

“You know, contrary to what others may think,” Morgana chirped, “I’m not at all opposed to your relationship.”

“I didn’t realise I had to seek your approval,” Goro said dryly, and tossed the more expensive option into his basket. He didn’t need to ask who hated his presence around Ren either, but he’s at a point where he wasn’t particularly interested in the validation of others. 

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Morgana said, tail flicking against Goro’s ear impatiently, “It just means that I actually want this to go well.” 

What an erratic concept. Goro’s not sure if any of his plans have ever, so to speak, gone well. 

“If you keep anticipating things to fall apart, then that’s exactly what’s going to happen,” Morgana continued sagely.

“I suppose you consider yourself an expert on this.” 

“The sum of humanity’s hope, remember?” Morgana reminded him with pride, and returned to licking his paw, “I can’t just let you infect the space with your fatalism.”

Goro rolled his eyes, “You seem very confident that I wouldn’t harm him,” He said casually, like he hadn’t spent the last few months overhearing Sakamoto’s loud complaints about Goro’s ulterior motives, or noticed the distrusting glares that Sakura and Okumura made certain to throw his way whenever he appeared in the vicinity. 

“Why would you?” Morgana yawned, settling into the crook of Goro’s neck for a nap, “You don’t have any reason to, or not anymore at least. And besides, only someone who liked Ren as much as you did would spend this much time thinking about what he liked for every stupid thing you’re buying right now.” 

“Maybe I’m the one that’s particular,” Goro said, looking into his little basket with its assortment of gourmet groceries and branded toiletries, “Maybe I’m the one with expensive taste.” 

“Then this wouldn’t take so long, if you already knew what you liked,” Morgana purred, “What do you think, Detective Prince? How many points is that for me?” 

Goro laughed, his first true and meaningful laugh in a while. How ridiculous. He made sure to tell Morgana as such.

“I see that Ren is rubbing off on you,” Goro said, ignoring the way his heart unclenched itself, how each breath now seemed a little easier.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Morgana meowed with self-satisfaction, and settled in for his nap. 

The walk back felt far longer than the trip to the shop, and he’s pulled forward by a sense of urgency, with the knowledge of a wrong he needed to right. It’s a strange feeling, the sensation of renewed direction, like an invisible force that’s both chiding and encouraging at once. By the time he’s arrived at their floor on the apartment block, Morgana hopped off, like they haven’t had some huge, life-changing conversation before, and marched ahead, slipping back into the house through the cat flap. 

As Goro pushed the front door open, Ren stood up from where he was in the living room. Behind him, the warm hues of the setting sun poured through the windows, casting Ren in a soft orange glow. 

“Hey,” Ren greeted tentatively.

Goro looked, properly, at the sparse space littered with clothes that Ren was in the middle of going through, the small pile of old law textbooks from Sae-san that was currently in use as a makeshift table, and the bright potted plant that Ren had picked up from the florist, now tucked neatly into a corner by the window. The small crate of coffee beans and a siphon coffee maker on the floor, next to the toy gun Ren had gifted him several months back. The bits of their life now interwoven in this new mess, this clutter for the both of them to sort through together. Goro took a deep breath, and exhaled.

“I’m home,” he said, meaning his words. 

“Welcome back,” Ren smiled, shoulders relaxing visibly, and all was right for a while.

**Author's Note:**

> Goro: I didn't buy any food. We're going to need to go out for sushi.  
> Ren: /looks at Morgana/  
> Goro: This has nothing to do with him.  
> Ren: 🤔
> 
> \--
> 
> my first completed shuake fic's not even a real shuake fic lmao
> 
> shoutout to the incredibly niche audience of hopefully not just me that wants more Goro interacts with the other phantom thieves


End file.
